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New York City Now Requires All Single Occupancy Bathrooms Be Gender Neutral

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration issued a report last week explaining how they will interpret a 2002 civil rights law to accommodate transgender people. The New York Commission on Human Rights document explains the way the city will enforce the law.

One of the biggest changes listed is the requirement that all single occupancy bathrooms be clearly marked as gender neutral. Several other cities have similar bans on sex segregated restrooms unless they are meant for multiple people at a time.

The law explicitly states that it is illegal to deny a transgender person access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and other single-sex facilities. It also requires police, employers, and landlords to use a person’s pronoun and name of choice regardless of the name and gender marker on their identification.

“The [New York Civil Rights Law] requires that individuals be permitted to use single-sex facilities, such as bathrooms or locker rooms, and participate in single-sex programs, consistent with their gender, regardless of their sex assigned at birth, anatomy, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on their identification,” the document reads. “The law does not require entities to make existing bathrooms all-gender or construct additional restrooms. Covered entities [such as landlords, city agencies, and employees] that have single-occupancy restrooms should make clear that they can be used by people of all genders.”

“Some people, including, for example, customers, other program participants, tenants, or employees, may object to sharing a facility or participating in a program with a transgender or gender non-conforming person. Such objections are not a lawful reason to deny access to that transgender or gender non-conforming individual.”

The entire document is available for download online [pdf].

 

H/t: LGBTQ Nation

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